Chicago teachers hold 1-day strike to protest funding cuts

Associated Press

Published
12:54 pm PDT, Friday, April 1, 2016

CHICAGO — Chicago teachers took to picket lines Friday in a one-day strike they say is aimed at getting lawmakers to adequately fund education and other programs in the nation’s third-largest district.

The walkout closed schools for nearly 400,000 students, who had the option of spending the day at one of the more than 250 “contingency sites” Chicago Public Schools opened at churches, libraries and school buildings.

Friday’s actions also could foreshadow a longer strike over a new labor contract.

The Chicago Teachers Union last went on strike in 2012, shutting down schools for more than a week before reaching an agreement with Emanuel. That contract expired in June, and the negotiations for a new one have been going on for more than a year.

Tiffany Stockdale, whose two children attend Chicago schools, said she agrees with the teachers even if closing the schools is an inconvenience. She said the strike seemed like the only way to get people in power to listen.

“This is what the teachers have to do and I think the parents — whether it’s hard, whether it’s easy — they should support this,” Stockdale said.

Emanuel said he agrees that state lawmakers need to provide more money for schools, and particularly for districts that serve poor students. But he urged the union to join him in lobbying the Legislature rather than going on strike and closing schools that many students depend on for meals and other services in addition to their education.

“Our kids are paying a price that I don’t think is right,” Emanuel said.

Chicago Public Schools, which faces a $1.1 billion budget deficit, already has halted salary increases, ordered teachers to take three furlough days and imposed other cuts to schools.